Owner: East Dorset District Council

Managed by: East Dorset Countryside Management Service

Site designation:

• Local Nature Reserve
• Site of Special Scientific Interest

Grid reference: SY 992 973

Nearest town: Corfe Mullen

Size (Ha): 1.2 Ha

Nearest bus stop: Lockyers Road, Wilts and Dorset bus route

Nearest train station: Poole (five miles)

Habitats: Dry heath

Look out for: All six species of British reptile can be found on the neighbouring Barrow Hills and it is likely that they are also resident on Corfe Hills

Parking: no parking area

Accessibility: access to the site is made through a squeeze stile and bridleway anti-motorcycle gate; there is one main bridleway through the site with a gravel surface

How to get there:

From Poole / the south, follow the B3074 (Higher Blandford Road) north towards Rushcombe Bottom. Turn right at the roundabout onto Lockyers Road, then right at another roundabout at the top of Lockyers Road onto Cogdean Way. Follow to the end where the footpath cuts through to Cogdean Elms.

From Wimborne / the north, follow the A31 west from Wimborne, and turn left at the B3073 roundabout onto Wimborne Road, towards Corfe Mullen. Turn left at the roundabout onto Cogdean Way, and follow to the end where the footpath cuts through to Cogdean Elms.

Management plan:

The general conservation management objectives for the site are to improve the quality of heathland habitat for wildlife, and to reduce the risk of summer fires. Pine and birch scrub regeneration is regularly removed from the central areas of heath, whilst fire breaks have been cut at the rear of neighbouring housing developments. Strips of heather are also mown annually, both to improve the age structure across the heath for reptiles and invertebrates, and also to prevent the spread of any accidental or deliberately set fires. The management aims to complement that of the neighbouring Barrow Hills site.

The mature tree cover to the south of the site will gradually be removed to increase the area of heathland.

If you would like to find out more about future management plans for Corfe Hills, please contact Matt Reeks at Moors Valley Country Park on 01425 470721, or e-mail mreeks@eastdorset.gov.uk